Disclosure: this guide contains referral links, marked where they appear. Market data is independently measured from public sources on the dates shown.
South Carolina is an open state, and it is open in the least interesting and most useful way: there is no kei-specific statute here, no restricted road class, and no periodic vehicle safety inspection at all.
That last point does more work than it sounds like. In most states the argument about a kei truck happens at an inspection station or in a statutory definition written for golf carts. South Carolina removed both venues. A 25-year import is titled and registered like any other imported vehicle, with the paperwork and the fee.
One caveat before you plan around that: reporting is not unanimous. Most sources describe South Carolina as open; at least one lists it as closed. Neither camp cites a South Carolina statute or bulletin naming kei vehicles, because as far as I can find there is not one. I explain below what that means for you and what to ask.
I research Japan’s used vehicle market from Sapporo.
The Short Answer
- No kei-specific restriction in South Carolina law that I could locate.
- No periodic safety or emissions inspection — the state does not run one.
- No low-speed or restricted road class to squeeze into, which is why the “borrowed class” trap that closes other states does not arise here.
- The cost that is unusual: a 5% Infrastructure Maintenance Fee, capped at $500, in place of sales tax.
- Insurance: 25/50/25, plus mandatory uninsured motorist cover at the same limits.
- Reporting conflicts. Confirm with SCDMV before you ship, and the reason to do so is below.
Why South Carolina Is Easy
It is worth being precise about what “open” means, because it is not the same thing in every open state.
In Colorado, kei vehicles are open because the legislature wrote a detailed statute creating a class for them. In Michigan, they are open because the Secretary of State published a specific answer saying so. South Carolina is open for neither reason. It is open because nothing closes it.
Three things are absent here that block these trucks elsewhere:
No FMVSS condition on registration. States that refuse kei trucks generally do it through a provision requiring federal safety certification to title or register — Hawaii’s § 286-42, Wisconsin’s § 341.10(6), New York’s DMV requirement. I could not find South Carolina’s equivalent.
No inspection to fail. South Carolina does not require a vehicle inspection to register or renew, and runs neither a safety nor an emissions programme — the SCDMV fee schedule carries no inspection line at all. Compare Massachusetts, where every registered vehicle faces an annual $35 safety inspection, or Ohio, where a police inspection is a condition of the local ordinance that permits road use at all.
No restricted class to be shoehorned into. This is the quiet one. Several states are reported as “allowing” kei trucks under a low-speed vehicle or ATV class, and then the class turns out to carry entry requirements the truck cannot meet — Virginia, Oregon and Utah all work that way. South Carolina does not route these vehicles into a special class, so there is no entry requirement to fail and no 35 mph ceiling to live under.
The Conflicting Report, and What to Do About It
Most published guides place South Carolina in the open column. At least one places it in the closed column. I am flagging that rather than picking a side, because I could not find the primary source that would settle it either way — no statute naming kei vehicles, no SCDMV bulletin, nothing equivalent to Georgia’s revenue bulletin or Oregon’s DMV page.
When a state has no published position, the answer is made at the counter, and counter practice can vary. So the useful step is a narrow written enquiry to SCDMV before you commit to freight:
“I intend to import a 1999 Japanese-market light truck under the federal 25-year exemption, entering on an HS-7 with box 1 checked and EPA form 3520-1. With the Japanese export certificate, a certified translation, and CBP form 7501, will SCDMV issue a South Carolina title and registration?”
That question is answerable in one sentence and it is the one that matters. Ask it in writing and keep the reply — a printed answer is also the most useful thing to have in hand at the counter.
What It Costs
South Carolina’s distinctive charge is the Infrastructure Maintenance Fee, which replaced sales tax on vehicles in 2017. It is, per the SC Department of Revenue, 5% of the gross proceeds of the sale where you buy from a licensed SCDMV dealer, or 5% of the vehicle’s fair market value where you do not, capped at $500, and it is paid to SCDMV rather than to the Department of Revenue.
For an imported kei truck that is genuinely cheap. At the Japan-side medians below, 5% lands around $115–145; even on a fully landed figure of $6,700 it is $335, still under the cap. The $500 ceiling that matters for a new pickup is irrelevant to you.
The fee is assessed on fair market value for a private or import transaction rather than on what you paid, so keep your purchase documentation and be ready for SCDMV to form its own view of value. Registration and title fees are the ordinary SCDMV schedule, plus county property tax on the vehicle, which is billed separately by your county and is the recurring cost most out-of-state buyers forget.
Insurance
Requirements are published by the South Carolina Department of Insurance.
South Carolina requires liability of at least $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 property damage, and it also requires uninsured motorist coverage at matching limits — so the practical floor is 25/50/25 twice.
The usual import friction applies: a Japanese chassis number is not a 17-character VIN, online quote forms validate VIN length and will reject it, so expect a telephone conversation. Ask whether the insurer will write an agreed-value policy rather than actual cash value, because no valuation guide has a figure for a 1999 Japanese-market truck.
What South Carolina Buyers Should Actually Watch
Since the legal side is unusually simple here, the decisions worth making are about the truck.
- No inspection cuts both ways. Nobody will make you fix the wipers, the plate light or the seat belts — which means nobody will catch them for you either. On a 25-year-old work truck those are the items that quietly stop working, and you are the only quality control in the process.
- Humidity, not salt, is the corrosion problem. The Lowcountry is warm and wet year-round and the coast adds salt air. This is closer to Hawaii’s continuous-exposure situation than to the seasonal salt of the Midwest. Read the auction sheet for C codes — corrosion that has gone through metal — rather than paint grade, per the auction sheet guide, and undercoat early.
- Air conditioning is worth paying for. Many kei work trucks were sold without it, and a South Carolina summer is not the place to discover that. Confirm from the equipment line rather than assuming.
- Buy for the work, not the class. With no speed ceiling and no road-class restriction, the specification questions are the ordinary ones — 4WD or not, dump bed or flat bed — and the model comparison is the place to settle them.
For Reference: What These Trucks Cost
This is the Japan-side market, measured August 19, 2026 — every eligible truck listed publicly in Japan, at ¥159/USD:
| Model | Listings in Japan | Median price in Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Subaru Sambar | 78 | ¥364,000 (≈$2,289) |
| Mitsubishi Minicab | 64 | ¥394,000 (≈$2,478) |
| Honda Acty | 80 | ¥398,000 (≈$2,503) |
| Suzuki Carry | 99 | ¥399,000 (≈$2,509) |
| Daihatsu Hijet | 60 | ¥453,000 (≈$2,849) |
Landed cost runs about $4,800–6,700 depending on specification, itemised in the cost guide, with the raw dataset published so you can recount any figure. Add roughly 5% for the Infrastructure Maintenance Fee and your county’s vehicle property tax on top.
South Carolina puts fewer obstacles between you and a plate than almost any state — which makes condition the entire decision, because no inspector is going to catch anything for you. CAR FROM JAPAN publishes the inspector’s auction sheet with each vehicle, and my referral code takes $100 off a first purchase: enter KEITRUCK at the order step (referral link). Send SCDMV the one-sentence question above before you book freight.
FAQ
Are kei trucks legal in South Carolina?
There is no kei-specific restriction in South Carolina law that I could find, no restricted road class, and no periodic inspection programme, and most published guides treat the state as open. At least one lists it as closed, and neither position cites a South Carolina source — so confirm with SCDMV in writing before shipping.
Does South Carolina require a safety inspection?
No. The state does not require a vehicle inspection to register or renew, and operates neither a safety nor an emissions programme. That removes the venue where kei trucks are usually refused, and it also means nobody checks the truck for you.
What is the Infrastructure Maintenance Fee?
South Carolina’s replacement for sales tax on vehicles: 5% of the sale proceeds from a licensed dealer, or 5% of fair market value otherwise, capped at $500 and paid to SCDMV. On a kei truck it lands around $115–145.
What insurance do I need?
Liability of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 property damage, plus uninsured motorist coverage at the same limits.
Is there a speed limit on where I can drive it?
Not one specific to these vehicles. South Carolina does not route kei trucks into a low-speed or restricted class, which is what produces the 35 mph and 55 mph ceilings in other states.
What should I check before buying, given there is no inspection?
The items an inspection would have caught: wipers and washers, all lighting including the plate light, the speedometer, seat belt retractors, brakes and tyres. On a 25-year-old truck these are the usual failures, and in South Carolina you are the only person who will look.